Unspoken
by Von
Summary: Captain America is the undisputed leader of the Avengers, but when he goes down? Iron Man steps up. Fury wants to know why nobody else thinks that's crazy. (A short story in two (three) parts)
1. Chapter 1

Shameless feel-good ficlet. Reflects a phenomenon I've seen in the fandom, but never seen explained.

**Unspoken**

The only thing more inconceivable than SHIELD not having a plan in place for when Captain America went down and couldn't get back up, was what actually happened when he did.

See, as much as Fury might glower with the killing strength of a thousand supernova suns at anyone coming towards him with something to sign, SHIELD _was_ a legitimate organisation and that meant paperwork. It meant plans and budgets. It meant human resources running seminars on appropriate behaviour and how to apply for hazard pay and overtime. It meant policies that covered everything from the personal adornment of the janitorial staff all the way up to crisis scenarios where all major commanders were taken out.

Except, apparently, no-one had ever thought that _Captain America_, leader of a loose team of so-called 'super heroes', could or would ever be taken out.

Until he was.

Hovering thousands of feet above the pacific ocean, well out of any flight paths and only connected to the battle in Singapore by a faulty satellite uplink, SHIELD had dropped the ball.

But then, hundreds of miles away, _Iron Man_ of all people had caught it. And then he carried it all the way home.

"_Widow, double back 20 meters and take cover - Hawk, cover her - Thor get up on the- yeah, wait for my mark. Hulk! Hulk, we need you to clear a path, buddy. Head towards me and flatten anything that gets in your way, got it? Go. Now!"_

They'd gone. With live CCTV and the odd shaky cell-phone footage being streamed into command central, Fury and his entire bridge crew had witnessed the rest of the Avengers fall into line behind _Tony Stark_ like there'd never been a question, never a doubt, of who held command priority if Cap didn't.

Fury couldn't conceive of which member was blowing his mind the most. Hulk, who sometimes snarled even as he grudgingly obeyed _Captain America_'s orders was responding to Iron Man like bending his neck to another's authority _had_ never been and _could_ never be a problem. Thor, a _Prince from another Planet_, who every shrink they had on payroll had said would respect only those who could match or beat him in strength, took orders from a frail human in a tin can who was not only arguably the physically weakest member of the team but whose greatest strength - his mind - was considered the least worthy aspect of any person in Asgard. Not only took orders, unhesitatingly, but seemed to anticipate them like he'd somehow spent enough time with the human to become familiar with how he thought.

As the only member of the team who _hadn't_ moved into Stark Tower, Fury could only conclude that _someone_ was screwing up _somewhere_.

But seemingly even _more_ unlikely were Widow and Hawkeye. Those two were infamous for a lot of reasons, but the two biggest ones were their dual reliability and utter _un_reliability. Both of them were perfection in the field, able to salvage a blown op on the spot or follow it up successfully where no other agent could - and yet both were profiled as a moderate security risk.

Hawkeye was an in-your-face maverick, a man who seemingly made no bones of his own conditional loyalty and used it as a shield _against_ SHIELD. When Coulson had been around… well. They'd lost a lot more than just a good agent, that day. Now Hawkeye was only on the payroll so long as he believed SHIELD was fighting the right fight the right way and odds were good that if either he or Widow decided SHIELD didn't live up to expectations, the other would follow them out.

Widow was the worst. She was just so damned _good_ at following orders. So smoothly, unhesitatingly obedient when any normal person with a sense of survival would hesitate to weigh their instincts against their desire to serve. And yet, this was the same woman who only ever gave as much information as she felt was warranted. She never lied - he didn't think, and wasn't that damning enough - but her faultless obedience was tempered by a tendency to go off grid at the drop of a hat, to simply ignore orders (and always in a way that followed with her coming out smelling of roses) in the field and to very occasionally put her own values before SHIELD's. Almost never, but it had happened - and in an organisation like theirs, that just wasn't the sort of shit that got tolerated for anyone but the best.

And even then… they'd mostly been tolerated because Coulson had been the buffer between the two of them and SHIELD, forward and back, he'd made both of them trust the other a little more.

If Coulson had started giving orders after Cap went down, he would have understood the two agents' instant, unhesitating obedience.

But _Tony Stark_? Just… no.

Fortunately for his blood pressure, Stark's stupid plan went off without a hitch, the enemy force was almost completely decimated and Iron Man himself was evacuating Cap even as he continued to give orders (if 'good work, team, round up the stragglers then go get drunk on me' could be considered an order) which _continued to be followed_ without even a sarcastic remark.

Shock. It must be.

Still, he decided, sharing a significant look with his second, the debriefings would be _very_ illuminating.

They had better be.

OoO

So, Iron Man 3. Without spoiling anything, Tony Stark is effing BOSS!

The second and final part of this short story will be out within the week.


	2. Chapter 2

Super-fast update! More shameless feel-goods. The slightest of bashing, maybe. And if anyone else knows a story which deals with either _making_ Tony the 2IC or _why_ it happens, please _please_ let me know! I'd love to see what other people come up with.

**Undone**

"Well?" Fury opened, when all (living) criminals were in cells and the Avengers - sans Rogers and Stark - had been rounded up for debriefing. He had a notepad on the table before him, SHIELD having fully appreciated just how insecure digital files could be ever since the minor brain hemorrhage that had led to Tony Stark being permitted to set foot on the Helicarrier.

Debriefings were normally quick affairs, especially after battles in which SHIELD actually had an eye in the sky. Generally, Rogers would report for the team and - if Stark weren't there to stir everyone up - the whole thing would be done within ten minutes.

Without either of them there, nobody was volunteering to talk.

"Fine, we saw most of it and Rogers will file a report later. What I really want to know is: Why Stark? Cap went down, Stark took the reigns and you all just _let him_. You let. _Stark_. Order you around. Why?"

He could feel Hill tense at his shoulder, his second wanting the answer just as much as him. She was young, had never known Howard Stark and was female to boot - Stark got her back up on a good day. It would take a direct order from Fury himself to make her ever follow Stark's lead and _that_ was something he was very glad to know. In fact, it might just be time to give her a raise. He just needed to know what was going through the minds of the Avengers first, to make sure whatever insanity they'd fallen prey to wasn't contagious or something.

His gaze skated over Barton - who was already smirking lightly at whatever he was picking up from Fury - to Widow, who met his gaze with scrupulously attentive silence, then skipped over Banner to land on Thor.

"I would think," Fury began carefully "that in a situation like today, you yourself would be inclined to take command. I'm… curious, why that was not the case."

Thor looked honestly surprised.

"Though I care greatly for this world, it is _not_ my own." He answered simply, as if Fury had somehow missed that fact. "My experience with your terrain, combat methods and battle tactics are… minimal."

"Alright, fair enough. But help me out here. I'm trying to understand why, with yourself not an option, you would follow a man who's basically a civilian. Barely a warrior." Fury persisted. "I'm… concerned that he may have given you an _unrealistic_ impression of his authority."

Thor drew himself up, though if his offence was for himself or on Tony's behalf, Fury couldn't tell.

"Tony Starl has made no claim to authority within my hearing." He said sternly. "Although he is a gracious ruler of many people."

Behind him, Hill coughed sharply.

"I'm sorry. What?" Fury thought furiously about who he could lay the blame on for _this_ screw-up. If the Council found out that the soon-to-be _King_ of a powerful alien race somehow thought that _Tony Stark _was his otherworld counterpart…

"I understand that many Midgardians elect a petty official to act as governor for petty concerns." Thor explained, _almost_ patronisingly, resulting in a swiftly hidden smirk from Barton and a twitch of Banner's lips. "The management of food and water supplies and such. My Jane and her young Darcy have explained this to me. However, I also understand that there exists a 'capitalist' system in which those who possess wealth are the ruling class. Whoever possesses the most wealth possesses the most power. Our friend and shield-brother, Tony Stark, possesses a great deal of wealth and thus would be considered - at minimum - a Lord of great esteem."

Alright, forget the Council. Fury just hoped the _Internet_ never caught wind of Thor's comprehension of the hierarchy of capitalist humans.

Thor wasn't finished.

"As I fight within a different world, _for_ a different world's people, it is only proper that I follow the command of a leader of that world. Captain Rogers is a fine warrior, chosen to lead the Avengers for his skill. In his absence, however, it is only natural that command would revert to the Lord who sponsors him."

"Sponsors."

"Yes. Is it not true that Tony Stark shelters, provides for and protects every member of the Avengers, including Captain Rogers? That they - and I - eat freely at his table? Were we to be in Asgard, I would offer the same in turn. But here, in Midgard, Tony Stark shoulders that duty and does so with an ease and grace I find myself admiring. Though he is little, and young, he has much to teach me."

Fury's internal dread, that Stark would ever find out the Asgardian heir thought so highly of him, was matched only by the level of malicious glee at the notion of the C_ouncil_ ever finding out. Sure, it would kick off a migraine of unmatchable proportions - thwarting Council-sanctioned assassinations against Stark always did - but it might just be worth it.

Especially if he used a handy little 'rainy day' program he had that would filter out the obscuring shadows from the Council's faces.

To distract himself from the combination of temptation and aggravation, he turned to Banner.

The man had the gall to shrug, still smiling a little.

"I don't really… remember much. When the other guy is… in charge. You know that."

"But I know you sometimes retain glimpses. Impressions." Fury persisted doggedly. "I'm trying to understand what happened, so… 'problems' don't happen in the future. If the Hulk is prone to just taking orders from anyone-"

"He's not." Banner snapped, eyebrows furrowing before almost immediately smoothing again as he caught himself. Fury didn't react, forced himself not to. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Romanov was equally blank-faced whereas Barton just looked bored. Only Hill had visibly tensed at the threat of Banner losing his temper.

"It's not like that at all." Banner temporised. "It's just… The 'other guy'… he _likes_ Tony. I, uh. I think they're friends. And, maybe, I kind of get the impression that the only reason, uh, the other guy ever listens to Cap at _all_, is because Tony does. Or, well, Iron Man does."

He sat back, looking politely apologetic but also faintly smug. He had good reason to. Their greatest weapon stroke ticking time bomb was on the side of the narcissistic loose canon who had no compunctions against taking on the world, if he ever thought the world had it coming.

"Wonderful." Was all he allowed himself, before turning his gaze to Barton.

"And what about you?" He asked brusquely. "Normally the two of you can't stop arguing on the comms long enough to do your goddamn jobs, but suddenly Stark says 'Jump' and you just _do it_?"

Barton shrugged.

"Not exactly." He added, when Fury's expression made it _very_ clear that shrugging was a court-martial-able offence. "Stark's a dick, and that's basically what I like about him, but when the shit hits the fan and Iron Man makes the call? _Yeah_ I'm gonna follow orders. Who wouldn't?"

Fury turned to Romanov, almost ready to beg the woman to be the voice of sanity - or borderline contempt - she normally was.

"Iron Man Yes." She just offered simply. "Tony Stark No. I meant what I said, sir. If Tony Stark gave me an order, I'd slam his face into the ground and rub gum in his hair. But Iron Man? He's not just a genius on paper. He's the most manoeuvrable member of the team, with an AI to help him keep track of the entire field and he can throw together a workable plan as easily as he can show up Mr Fantastic as the gigantic wanna-be that he is."

Barton snickered. Natasha had gone undercover with Reed Richards once before. She'd come out with a deep appreciation for Tony Stark's particular brand of fuck-you technical flair and - most importantly - competency. Stark's ego was at least justified, she'd grumbled to him after the fact. Richards, on the other hand, was so busy being in love with himself that he kept forgetting minor yet vital components to everything he did.

Fury just looked at her.

"…Stark?" He did not, _not_, whine. The slightest lift to her lips for a split second argued otherwise.

"…When the chips are down." She explained graciously after a moment. "Tony Stark _is_ Iron Man. There's no difference. And I have two certainties. One; a certifiable genius with a proven track record of on-the-spot problem solving is offering solutions and Two; the man barking orders in my ear will be putting _himself_ in twice as much danger as any of us, because he'd sooner take the hit himself than see one of his people go down."

Fury blinked. Blinked again. Well, when she put it like _that._

"Gum?" Banner asked curiously. "Really?"

Silently, the red headed woman withdrew a slender stick of foil-wrapped gum from her belt, then tucked it back.

Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, dissolved into giggles that would embarrass a seven year old girl.

"I've been wondering why you started carrying them around." Barton put in, idly spinning an arrow through his fingers. "I tried to put money on 'halitosis' but none of the guys would take me up on it. Well, except Stark, but _that's_ no fun. I could put up everything I own and even if he lost, he'd feel it like he'd feel a busted cell phone. Not at all."

"So, just to clarify." Fury dragged them back on task. "The one man that I was pretty sure everyone universally regarded with tolerant disdain at worst and amused affection at best is, in fact, _somehow,_ the second in command of the Avengers?"

Glances were exchanged.

"To put it in Midgardian terms," Thor offered kindly "'Duh'." He beamed proudly at the rest of his team.

"Darcy is improving my familiarity with your common tongue, so that I may speak with you at a level beyond what the Allspeak enables." He explained.

Hill looked carefully away from Fury.

"That's very dedicated of you." Romanov observed tranquilly. "And something that everyone would respect when coming from a foreign dignitary. Thank you."

"'Tis a small, but worthy endeavour." Thor replied graciously. "I am studying the work of 'The Simpsons' so that I might also better comprehend the vernacular of the noble working-class."

"Right on." Barton approved with a shameless grin. Fury decided he'd had enough.

"Where's your new illustrious leader, then?" He asked sourly, already tearing his notes out of the pad. Tony Stark only ever showed up when Rogers made him. He knew better than to expect the team's amazing new leader to do his duty long enough to _debrief_ or - god forbid - send in a report.

"At Cap's bedside, is my guess." Barton reported idly. "Stark does _not_ react well when his people get hurt." He grinned. "Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, don't it?" He observed, mostly to Natasha but including the room.

Banner just kept smiling, Thor squinted as he attempted to work out whether Barton's 'working class vernacular' was obscuring a different meaning, and Romanov rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes." She agreed, nearly making Fury choke on his own spit (and if he had, well, obviously the next step would have been to order Hill to shoot him dead because there were just some things even _he_ couldn't come back from).

Almost as one, the four of them stood.

"If you'll excuse us, sir?" Barton asked, almost perfunctorily. "Our fearless leader just paged." A vague wave reminded Fury that every member of the group was still wearing earpieces, which meant JARVIS - at least - had heard every word of their conversation. "Something about hamburgers and picking up his laundry."

Natasha sighed and removed the piece of gum from her belt.

"If it's going to stick, I'd better start chewing now." She explained to Fury's intent stare, unwrapping as she went. "I meant what I said, sir. Iron Man Yes, Tony Stark No." She popped the piece of gum into her mouth and tucked the foil packet back into her belt, strolling out of the room like one of the - maybe _the_ - top infiltrator/assassin in the world hadn't just told him she was about to go tackle a billionaire to the floor and rub gum into his scalp like a mean little kindergartner.

Following her, Barton spun on his heels and walked backwards for a few steps, grinning as he shrugged his shoulders.

"She liiiikes him." He confided in a stage whisper, before a hand shot back through the doorway, grabbed his collar and yanked him outside.

"We all do." Banner contributed on his way out, still smiling, but now laced with warning. "I guess that's why we follow him."

"Verily." Thor nodded. "I can only hope my own people will come to hold me in such esteem."

Then they were gone, the whole misfit band of migraine-spawning miscreants. Fury sighed and glanced down at the notes he'd taken. Then he handed them to Hill.

"Tell the Council that the Avengers had previously taken the initiative to establish a line of command for just such an emergency." He rattled in a practice monotone. Hill took the papers from his hands and burned them to ashes right then and there with a small lighter in a small fireproof bag she'dtaken to carrying around for just such situations. They were becoming downright pro forma for anything involving the Avengers these days.

"And that unfamiliarity with modern protocol resulted in Captain Rogers not thinking to report the amended structure to SHIELD. Our own agents didn't think to mention something so obviously the purview of their leader. The End. Oh, and run a note by hand to our friend down in Medical Six. Tell him I hate his guts."

Hill's lips might have twitched. More probably it was an illusion caused by the changing light as she shifted her weight.

"Yes sir. Anything else?"

Fury shook his head.

"Just, let me know if you think you or any more of my people might be compromised by that pain in the ass."

Hill nodded and left the room. Alone, Fury glared at the wall. His lips twitched.

"Goddamn Tony Stark."

**End**

So, today I found out that 'Reed Richards is useless' is actually a trope.

Huh. I just thought he was a combination of dork and jerk in the movies and that came out in this fic. I have no level of comic book understanding, so please forgive me if my ignorance has caused unfair levels of bashing.

I think my Widow is maybe a bit different from fandom norm. I like to think that her non-enemy threats wouldn't always involve painful death. I hope it wasn't too jarring for people.

If you got this far, please lemme know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm not sure I like this chapter and some of you are certain not to _but_ after months of eyeballing it's not changing, so:

**Undone (bonus chapter)**

The thing is, SHIELD thinks that Steve doesn't know.

It's not their fault, even dedicated professionals can fall prey to ingrained beliefs. Even though they've had access to his files from the war. Even though they know precisely how _little_ training he had back then, leadership or otherwise…

Because they _grew up_ knowing that Captain America was the ultimate soldier. A 'real world' tactician, on the field and in the thick of things. Smart, brave, quick - the perfect man, the perfect _American_.

It's natural that he lead the Avengers. Obvious, even. Without question. And so people _don't_ question it.

Those that do but support him anyway, support him for entirely less savoury reasons. They support him as leader because he was a _soldier_. A soldier they were careful to never formally release from duty. A soldier who was trained as soldiers are, to obey without question. To jump on command. To _trust_.

He's useful, in the end. He's their tether. The one man they think Bruce (Hulk) might follow. The one man Thor might respect.

Natasha and Clint are already part of SHIELD, already have their own tethers. Thor, too, has connections with SHIELD. Bruce has an uneasy, suspicious truce with them.

Which leads to the number one reason Steve Rogers, Captain America, was put in charge of the Avengers.

He was the only man Tony Stark might stand a chance of heeding. The connection to his family and Steve's own genuine nature, gambled against Tony's allergy to any authority - perceived or otherwise - over him.

SHIELD thought they'd gambled and won. Tony snarked, he argued, he occasionally ignored but _he never once rebelled_. Tony Stark, Iron Man, fell into line as easy as breathing. SHIELD thought him tethered.

The reality?

Tony tethered _him_.

Because, he was _tired_. Tired of the world, too-fast and sometimes unforgivably _stupid_ when he'd thought by _now_ they'd know better. His country, lost in its own reputation, detractors within and without trying to tear it down in a mostly well-meaning but blind sort of way.

He was tired of _fighting_. When SHIELD turned out to be just as muddled as the rest of the world, liars and manipulators almost by habit rather than necessity… he'd almost given up right then and there. Almost laid down Captain America to lie with Peggy, Bucky and the Commandos, in the past where it _belonged_.

But, Tony had happened. Had pushed, challenged, _goaded_. Had, with razor tongue and quicksilver intellect, stripped SHIELD to the bone, seen what they wanted unseen, and had risen to challenge _them_ too.

Fearless. Stubborn. Determined. Coldly brilliant, but with that genuine warmth that kept him human. Tony Stark was everything people would have idolised back in the 30s and 40s. Industrialist, rich, the head of a huge company that employed thousands and _took care of them_. His hands were weathered with work, his tongue gilded with infinite charm.

He was brash like everything else in the world, brash and burning and bold - but it was never a _weapon_. It was a _shield_.

Tony Stark protected. Protected himself, his loved ones, his employees and his fellow man.

He proved to Steve, that good was still in the world. That it might look a little different, might swear and mock and think privacy was only a theoretical concept, _but it still existed_.

The world was different, but at their core, people were the same.

Captain America remained active because of one man, a man who was smarter than he was strong. A man who stood up for himself and others, who mouthed off first and met what came of that without flinching, no matter how outmatched he was.

A man who, in short, he felt a connection with. A sense of kinship.

To be fair, he couldn't blame _anyone_ for not realising the reality of their perceived Captain America/Iron Man tether. After all, the first time they'd met? They'd nearly turned infighting into an art form.

What was the expression? _Like calls to like_?

He and Tony were back-to-back mirror images of the same core values, a complimentary yin and yang that looked violently opposed at first glance but in truth…

In truth, neither could exist without some small measure of the other.

It was the kernel of rebellion and cynicism in Steve that had him laughing at Tony's abrasive nature. It was Tony's kernel of appreciation for values and honesty that had him support Steve when the world would have dismissed him as hopelessly naive.

And besides, Tony was a genius of more than just machines. He was the man who could become an expert of thermo-whatever overnight. He was the man who played his investors and the press like an orchestra, swanning through life _despite_ behaviour so out of control that anyone else would have drowned under it.

He was the man who had made it clear to Steve that _Captain America_ made the Avengers stronger. Gave them more authority, more weight. Gave them a foothold with the conservatives who had grown up using him as a yardstick of American Values. Gave them more of an edge should the day ever come when The Avengers said 'no', and bit the hand that fed because the hand's counterpart was _also_ feeding the enemy.

He was the man who Steve would follow without hesitation, but led because the man _asked it of him_.

And slowly, day by day, he was adapting. He went over battles on Tony's couch, with both genius man and genius AI machine picking apart and rebuilding their team _better_, teaching _Steve_ as they went how tactics had evolved over the years, teaching him to be more than just a spangly suit and a reputation.

Steve already knew how to be a Hero. Tony Stark - and Iron Man - taught him how to be human at the same time.

All these thoughts ran through his mind when Nick Fury joined him in his cab home from the hospital to glare at him.

Steve just let his kernel of rebellious mischief shine through his smile and gently parried the man's insistent enquiries.

"Why does your team follow Stark?"

_Because even professional chess pieces want to be valued. Because even adults and spies can crave safety and comfort. Because Tony's the __**real**__ leader of the Avengers and every one of us knows it. Because Iron Man is a hero and Tony Stark is his flip side, a man whose ruthlessness would shame any villain, any day of the week._

_Because he's ours, and we're his and that's how we _like_ it._

"I couldn't possibly say, sir." He answered with a smile learned straight from his number one fan, the man he and every other Avenger knew was alive and almost-well down in SHIELD's medical six, because Tony was a genius and SHIELD didn't have him pegged even _half_ so well as _he_ had _them_ pegged.

"You'd have to ask _them_."

Fury scowled. No-one could scowl quite like Fury.

"I _did_." The head of an international security agency groused. "I didn't like their answers."

Steve shrugged, gentle and amused and utterly unapologetic. Fury eyeballed him for four whole blocks before sighing and slumping back against his seat.

"Just… try to remember that he's made every psychiatrist on staff refuse to work with him."The director said eventually. "He's a melting pot of narcissism and insecurity, he's _not_ always right no matter how often he says he is." He held up a hand to stall Steve's automatic argument.

"He _needs_ people to challenge him. To make him reconsider his own convictions and actions. Even just every other day."

One dark brown eye bored into his.

"Nobody's perfect, Rogers. Just… try to remember that and we'll _all_ sleep a little better."

The cab was pulling up so Steve just smiled and nodded, USO training coming in handy. He wasn't an idiot, he _knew_ Tony wasn't perfect. But, who was? God and nobody else. You couldn't trust perfection when it came to humans because it was _always_ masking _something._

_Just look at Natasha. _

Tony was imperfect and he wasn't always right but he listened - really _listened_ - to every member of the team and could comprehend and adjust plans so fast that it sometimes _seemed_ like he was. He sure liked to _act _like he was always right, another shield Steve had learned about and he was kind of surprised that Nick Fury of all people didn't seem to get it.

The man gave him a final dark eyeballing.

"Good." He grunted then, hand on the door, _smirked_ at him.

Then he was out and gone, the door swinging shut on Steve's startled expression.

Okay. Maybe Director Fury got it a _little_.

**End (for real).**


End file.
